


Find Me a Clue

by CrochetingWords



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fake Deaths, Friends Conspiring, Halloween, M/M, Murder Mystery, whodunit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 00:33:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12544816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrochetingWords/pseuds/CrochetingWords
Summary: Boy squad and girl squad decide to throw a murder mystery party in order to finally have Isak and Even meet.Inspired by the movie Clue





	Find Me a Clue

“He’s never going to go for it” Eva whispers fiercely peeking out the window at the still empty driveway.

“We got him to agree just to come, that’s half the battle over.” Magnus adjusts the lapels of his suit jacket “I still don’t understand why I have to play the role of the butler” he grumbles.

“I don’t think any of the other guys would be able to pull off a waistcoat quite like you, baby” Vilde winks.

“Ugh if this is a taste of what we’re in for tonight, get the barf bags ready.” Noora, recently out of a relationship, mumbles under her breath.

Mahdi chuckles next to her “now you know what it feels like every time they’re together when we’re trying to hang out.”

“You think you’re the only one that has to sit through this? We’ve had to watch them spit coffee into each other’s mouths.” She shoots back. Although when she sees the two of them together she does find herself wishing she had what her dear friend has. Despite some of their flaws, they did look truly happy together.

“Wow, you win. Romance is fucked up.” Mahdi shakes his head.

_Agreed_ , Noora thinks. Maybe she’ll just stick closer to him for the rest of the night.

“Okay he’s on his way.” Jonas calls out “is everything in place?”

Eskild walks into the room wearing his white suit jacket and a pencil mustache drawn on in eyeliner “everything’s in place,” he confirms.

“Great, and Even will be here in 45 minutes.” Mikael looks up from his phone to Elias with a grin.

Both groups had been trying to get Isak and Even in the same room at the very least for the past year and some. When Magnus had first met Even, Mikael, and Elias at a campus party, he had to introduce them to the rest of his friends almost immediately.

The bond between the groups was instantaneous. They may as well all have know each other since grade school, no one could tell the difference. The only difficulty was trying to get Isak and Even meet. Every time they had set up a hang out or planned to go to a party where the two of them should have finally met, something would come up.

Once the pipe in the boys’ apartment broke and they had to cancel their plans. The other time Even had to cancel because his film project got deleted just days before its due date causing him to have to re-edit most of his raw footage. Then there was the time when the fire alarm went off at the pub just moments before they were all supposed to meet and Isak decided to go home instead. Or when Isak came down with food poisoning the same day they had arranged for the two of them to meet.

Point is, fate wasn’t pulling her weight. And if she wasn’t going to play her part in getting Isak and Even together, they were just going to have to take care of it themselves. This had become especially urgent for Magnus, who after a late night of drinking, had found out from Even’s best friend Mikael that he had developed a crush on Isak despite never having met him in person.

“You all have your instructions.” Magnus says earning him a murmur of agreement from the room.

“Then what is everyone still doing here?” He asks throwing his hands up in the air, shooing them all out.

*

He had been blackmailed, that’s the only he can possibly explain what he is doing here in this miserable downpour instead of sitting at home studying for his upcoming biochem test. What else would you call a text saying _Come to Chris’s house tonight or your rap video is getting a special screening._ An empty threat, sure, but a threat nonetheless and he’s not one to simply back down just like that. Even if the end result is him walking to his friend’s house with no clue as to what awaits him.

But if he was really honest with himself, all of the non stop studying and working, never seeing his friends had started to take a toll on him and it worried him, because he could slowly feel himself retreating from everyone around him. So this felt like a good a reason as any to get out.

Before he has a chance to knock, the door opens to Magnus stepping forward in a five piece suit that Isak has to admit, looks pretty damn good on him, not that he is planning on sharing that with him. Last time he complimented Magnus on his clothing, he tried to drag him shopping, because surely Isak had a better eye for what made his ass look best.

Isak looks down at his own jeans and hoodie and wonders if he may be underdressed, not that they sent him any instructions on a dress code. But his friends weren’t exactly ones to randomly go for fancy dress for no reason.

“Isak, we’ve been expecting you.” Magnus waves a hand out into the empty foyer behind him, his voice deeper than usual. Way deeper.

Ignoring how strange the greeting sounded, he steps into the house and out of the pouring rain.

Inside, the hallway has been transformed to look like a gothic manor, with fake lit candles hanging from the walls, decals covering the doors, giving them an old wooden look. Some of the walls are even covered in fake brick decals, complete with fake cardboard chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Hoisted up with a rope over a hook, the rope secured at the wall. Though he couldn’t grasp why they wouldn’t have hung it directly from the hook and foregone the rope, but he wasn’t one to critique other people on their decoration techniques.

“You’re the first of our guests.” Magnus continues, apparently not ready to give up the deep voice “why don’t you make yourself comfortable in the library, the second door to your left.”

“Of course I am” Isak groans, were they all waiting outside for him to arrive or something?

They had told him 19.00 on the dot in the follow up text and it was now 19.20. So much for trying to show up last. Exhaling deeply, he makes his way to the only open door. To his surprise the room really does look like a library, with a combination of real bookshelves and decals of bookshelves lining the walls. To the side of the room is a small bar, manned by Vilde dressed in a maid’s outfit.

“Woah if this is some kinky thing you and Magnus have going on, power to you, but I don’t want to be a part of it.” He jokes, giving her a quick hug.

Vilde looks at him unimpressed “don’t be rude, Isak. Take your drink and sit down.” She holds out a beer and points him towards the sofa when the doorbell rings. May as well go along with whatever this is. If it turned out to be too outrageous for his liking, he could always leave.

“Ah, Eva, come in, we’ve been expecting you.” he hears Magnus say in the hallway.

When Eva joins him, she’s dressed in a tight black dress and black feather boa around her shoulders.

“You guys really should have told me if this was dress up.” Isak tells her as he pulls back from the hug she greets him with.

“Would you have dressed up if we did?” Disbelief clear in her voice.

“Probably not.” He admits as she sits down next to him, cocktail in hand.

The doorbell continues to ring and soon the room is filled with Eskild, Noora, Jonas, Chris, Mahdi, Sana, and Mikael. Each of them dressed to the nines.

The last to arrive is Even, the only other person not to be dressed up. Isak has only seen him around campus and always looking flawless in pictures with his friends as well as their non-stop ravings about him for the past few months. Or has it been closer to a year now? To be honest he can’t remember a time when Even’s praises weren’t sang. Looking at him now, he almost can’t blame his friends for being so smitten with him. He supposes at least tonight would give him a chance to see what the fuss was about.

But before he can even think to introduce himself, Magnus joins them in the library. “Dinner is served.” He says, beckoning them to follow. When had this get together turned into a full blown dinner party? Although considering how everyone is dressed, nothing should surprise him now.

The dining room has been converted just as the hallway has, to include candles and a table set for a four course meal. Isak couldn’t help but be impressed when he spots the place cards with each of their names drawn in calligraphy. Someone really went through a lot of effort for this. Feeling his stomach rumble silently, Isak is reminded that he hasn’t eaten since breakfast and maybe a dinner party wouldn’t be the end of the world after all.

The moment everyone takes their assigned seats, Elias walks in, taking his spot at the head of the table. Looks like even Sana’s brother has been roped into this.

“You are here because most of you have been wronged by me in some way.” Elias’s voice carries across the room.

“Well if we’re keeping track now” Sana scoffs seated next to Isak.

“So I have gathered you all here today to make amends” Elias shoots her a pointed glance in return.

“But first things first, let’s go around the room and I will introduce each of you” he continues despite the fact that they all knew each other. Well with the exception of him and Even he supposes. “We’ve got Chris, Jonas, Eva, Sana, Isak, Eskild, Noora, Mahdi, Even, and Mikael.” He pauses, giving them all a chance to look around the table and Isak’s eyes catch Even’s who raises both brows at him, at least he is not the only one out of the loop as to tonight’s events.

“Before we can move on to dinner,” Magnus steps forward from where he was standing against the wall, “each of you has a box in front of you. If you could please now open them up.”

Doing as they’re told, Chris pulls out a candle stick holder, Jonas a rubber knife, Eva an empty wine bottle, Sana a small bust of a statue, Isak a rubber snake, Eskild a rope, Noora a vial labeled poison, Mahdi a wrench, Even simply shows off an empty box, and Mikael a piece of piping. Each item perched on a silk scarf.

“You’ve each been given an item.” Magnus says “It’s your responsibility to keep track of it and use it as you will. But remember your actions will have consequences.”

As soon as the last word is said, the lights go out, sending the room into darkness. The blinds must have been lowered and the curtains drawn shut, because Isak can barely see his hand in front of his face. He hears the sound of a plate tumble off the table and hit the ground right before the lights come back on.

Isak’s pupils barely have a chance to adjust when Eva shouts “He’s dead!” He looks to her and then the direction she’s pointing in. Sure enough there is Elias, slumped over his place setting. Next to him Sana stands up and walks to her brother, picking up a wrist for all of three seconds before dropping it back down on the table just a tad too hard given Elias’s quiet mumbled “ow”.

“Yup, he’s dead.” She says confirming Eva’s words and Isak’s worst nightmare. He had been blackmailed into participating in a murder mystery. Isak can barely contain his groan.

“Wait there’s something sticking out from under him” Eskild says and pulls at a folded note from underneath Elias, reading it aloud once it’s freed.

 

> _Good evening my friends,_  
>  _It is time to make amends._  
>  _Except it’s you who are the guilty, even if not adeptly,_  
>  _And it’s up to me to make sure you’re dealt with justly._  
>  _Now which one of you will be next?_  
>  _So many options, that it’s got me perplexed._  
>  _I will give you hints throughout the night,_  
>  _But it’s up to you to get it right._  
>  _When the clock strikes 00:00 your time is up and I go free,_  
>  _And you will never solve this mystery._
> 
> _Oh and the doors and windows are locked with no way around._  
>  _Your only way out is to die or for me to be found._

“So whoever this is, is planning on killing all of us?” Vilde who had joined them in the commotion asks sounding appalled.

“Yeah, with their horrible rhyming apparently” Isak can’t help himself, earning him a chuckle out of Even and a glare from Noora.

“Do the words sound like anything one of us would write?” Chris looks back to them.

“The only person I know who likes to spit rhymes here, is Isak.” Mahdi laughs as he high fives Jonas. Traitors.

“Okay, well I need to go to the washroom and I don’t want to go alone” Eva says.

“I’ll come with you” Eskild and Noora volunteer at the same time.

“Remember not to lose sight of your items” Magnus reminds everyone when the three of them leave the room.

Drawn back to the rubber snake, he picks it up, inspecting it.

“How can this possibly help me?” Isak looks at the toy in his hands confused.

“Well the wrench is pretty self explanatory.” Mahdi says picking his item up again.

“Home improvement?” Isak grins

They’re interrupted by a shrill scream coming from the hall or one of its adjacent rooms, startling them all as everyone is moving to see what happened, there only to see Eva standing over a dead Linn in the kitchen. Goddammit, he thought it was something serious. How many people are there in the house anyways, Isak wonders not having expected to see her. He walks around Eva to see Linn clutching a kitchen knife to her abdomen, fake blood everywhere around her.

“Where are Noora and Eskild?” Mikael asks when both are nowhere to be seen.

“Eskild went to use the bathroom upstairs and Noora is in the bathroom right here.” As if on cue, Eskild comes back down and Noora exits the bathroom just moments later.

“Linn, I can literally still see you breathing.” Isak deadpans staring down at her.

“Don’t spoil the mystery, Isak” Eskild scolds, swatting at Isak’s shoulder.

“So which one of you three did it?” Mahdi asks looking between Noora, Eva, and Eskild.

“What?”

“I didn’t-”

“Why would you-”

All three of them try to speak over each other, proclaiming their innocence when Even interrupts them.

“She could have been killed before, that’s a lot of blood pooling around her to have just died now.” Isak notices that Even seems to be really getting into the game. Although he has to admit, his interest has also been thoroughly piqued.

“That’s a good point, but if it wasn’t the three of them then who is the killer?” Sana asks.

“Easy, it’s Magnus.” Isak says matter of factly, almost feeling bad for ending the game so early.

“What makes you say that?” Eskild asks curious.

“Yeah what have I ever done to make you think I’d be capable of murder?” Magnus calls out indignantly.

“You’re the butler. It’s always the butler in every movie and book.” Isak explains nonchalantly.

“Oh come on Isak, give us more credit than that,” Eskild says sounding offended “only someone with zero imagination would pick the butler.” shooting a pointed look in Eva’s direction who shrugs in return.

“Should we search her?” Mikael asks after they have been standing over Linn silently for a while. Isak does have to credit her for not cracking a smile, he probably wouldn’t have been able to manage.

“What do you mean?” Eskild asks appalled.

“Well we found something on Elias’s body, so it stands to reason there may be something on hers as well.” It does make sense when Isak thinks about it.

“Here, there’s another note!” Eva exclaims reaching into Linn’s apron pocket. Her hand coming back out bloodied, folding open the note and reading it out loud.

 

> _So down goes the second,_  
>  _I bet this game is moving faster than you would have reckoned._  
>  _You’ll find me named after the light,_  
>  _For my labour shines bright even at night._  
>  _But remember that time is ticking,_  
>  _For when the clock strikes 21:00 the next one will be dropping._

“That means absolutely nothing.” Isak looks at the second rhyme over Eva’s shoulder in confusion.

“It means that at 21:00 someone’s going to die.” Vilde bites out.

“That still gives us...45 minutes.” Jonas says checking the clock.

“Okay I think we should go looking for clues.” Eskild says.

“Oh and let the killer just roam around freely?” Eva asks.

“Fine, then we’ll go in pairs.” Eskild shrugs.

“And risk whoever is paired with them getting killed?” Isak looks to him incredulously. He still hasn’t ruled Eskild out. In fact he had ruled none of them out. The only ones he knows for sure aren’t guilty are the dead. And he isn’t about to join them.

Okay so maybe he is starting to get into the game despite his earlier reservations.

“We can’t exactly sit here and wait for the next person to drop dead either.” Mikael tries to reason.

“Why not? I’m with Isak.” Eva chimes in, he knew she’d have his back “If we sit here watching each other, no one will have a chance to kill.”

“That didn’t exactly stop the killer when it came to Elias.” Even looks to her apologetically.

“We’ll go in pairs, but we’ll draw the names at random. Two names at a time.” Sana cuts in, effectively silencing all objections.

“Mikael and Jonas” Sana reads off two pieces of paper once everyone has thrown their names in and they have been thoroughly shuffled.

“Mahdi and Noora...Magnus and me… Even and… Isak.” Oh come on, his writing wasn’t so messy that she had to think for a moment before reading the name.

“And that leaves Chris and Eskild, and Vilde and Eva” she concludes.

“Alright, Eskild and I will take the living room, Vilde and Eva the hallway, Mikael and Jonas the dining room, Mahdi and Noora the library, and Magnus and Sana the kitchen, Isak and Even take the basement.” Chris instructs.

“Oh yeah sure, give us the creepiest and largest part of the house.” Isak complains. He had never been fond of basements in general. But one he has never been in? After the sun has set? With one of them running around killing everyone? Hell no. He has some sense of self preservation and this is it kicking in.

“We’ll be fine.” Even reassures, putting a hand on his shoulder. It does feel nice, Isak has to admit. And it is distracting him from what is probably his impending death. Wait, what if Even was the killer? It would probably be so easy for him to get away with it, with that smile of his. He’d probably apologize afterwards too.

But no, he was the only other person not dressed in character like the rest of them and he seemed genuinely surprised when they had both realized that they were going to be part of a murder mystery. Plus he also hadn’t been out of Isak’s sight the entire night.

Convinced that he isn’t about to accompany the killer to his own untimely demise, he sighs “yeah sure we’ll be fine, let’s go,” he says with confidence he doesn’t feel. Basements were still creepy after all.

Standing on top of the stairs, his mind is flooded with every horror movie about basements ever made. Something could jump at him now and drag him down, and he could be forever trapped there by spirits living in Chris’s basement. He doesn’t know her life, anything could be possible. How many horror movies had been named after basements? Too many.

“I’ll go first” Even offers from behind him with an easy going smile.

“Sure” Isak squeaks before clearing his throat and trying again “sure.” There, that was not at all convincing.

Even flips on the light switch and finds two flashlights hanging off a hook at the top of the stairs.

“We should probably take these, just in case. I’m not to fond of the thought of being in a dark basement either.” he passes one to Isak and tests the other to make sure it’s working.

Slowly Isak follows Even down the stairs, which thankfully don’t creak. Ugh why does it have to be an unfinished basement?

There is only one room that’s finished, with the walls finished. They both look to each other, not saying a word in the already eerie quiet. Isak shrugs, as if to say he doesn’t know what the correct decision is. But it apparently makes up Even’s mind because he opens up the door and steps into the room. With no choice but to follow, Isak does so.

The room is not dressed up, it’s a small simple study with a couch, writing desk, and a bookshelf.

The lights flicker for a moment and Isak grabs onto the closest thing to him; Even’s hand.

“If you wanted to get closer, all you had to do was ask” Even squeezes his hand back, but doesn’t let go, drawing a thankful grin out of Isak.

Still holding onto his hand, Isak walks over to what looks like a music box with a moon on it. Shine bright even at night could this be a clue? The moment he opens it up, the music starts and he can hear a distinctive click coming from behind of the door closing and a key being turned. From the outside.

He looks to Even, both wide eyed and hands squeezing tighter than probably either of them intend to.

“I’m assuming this is just part of whatever sick game you’re playing.” he calls out over the sound of the music box to whoever is on the other side of the door.

His answer comes in the form of the light being shut off.

“We are going to die.” Isak says turning on the flashlight and wildly waving it around trying to keep the room illuminated, despite how futile the action may be.

Even turns on his flashlight and tries the lightswitch on the inside of the room. No luck. Dammit. It’s just a game. Granted a very very stupid game right now, but a game nevertheless he tells himself.

“How can you look so calm right now?” He asks Even who is simply browsing the books on the shelf with his flashlight, their hands still linked.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, at some point that door will get unlocked and we’ll get out. Plus I’m not alone right now. You’re here too.” Even tells him, showing no outward signs of being stressed.

Isak takes a deep breath and releases it. Maybe he is getting worked up. Or maybe his friends simply suck. It’s really a toss up at this point.

“Soo…” Isak starts not knowing where to lead the conversation.

“Isn’t it weird how we’ve both known each other’s friends for so long and tonight is the first time we’re even in the same room together?” Even asks “I mean you’re all they can talk about.”

“Oh I know what that’s like” Isak scoffs “half of our conversations are Even this, Even that. I’m sorry to say that the topic of you is starting to get stale.”

“Me? Stale? But you’ve barely had the chance to even talk to me. I’ll have you know I can be very stimulating at times.” Isak can’t find it in himself to disagree.

“How long do you think we have until 21:00?” Isak asks instead.

“20 minutes easily. Why? What did you have in mind?”

Even tugs on Isak’s hand so they’re face to face. Isak gazing into the same eyes he had looked at over and over in his friends’ social media photos, lips that had featured in more than a few of his late night fantasies.

So what the hell, they both want to, they’re locked in a creepy basement, and there is a killer on the loose. If this isn’t the definition of you only live once, he doesn’t know what is. Without hesitation, he meets Even halfway, hands fisted into the front of Even’s sweater, lips messily crashing together in the dark, their flashlights forgotten on the table next to the music box. That same table that Even is pushing him was against now.

When Even’s mouth moves downwards, almost certainly leaving bruises in its wake, Isak can’t begin to make himself care right that moment. He’s too busy getting lost in how good it feels.

It’s in that moment that they hear another scream coming from upstairs. Acting on instinct they both bolt to the door, which to their surprise is unlocked. Barely taking the time to look to the other in confusion, they make their way upstairs and into the hallway where the group is gathered.

“Why would anyone want to kill Mahdi?” Jonas exclaims, looking down at Mahdi lying face down, fake blood over the back of his head and on the candle stick lying next to him.

Except the moment they join the group, it’s not their dead friend everyone is focusing on. They’re looking at him and Even.

“Uh...did it get pretty rough down there?” Jonas looks from one to the other.

Oh shit, in the rush neither of them had bothered to take the time to adjust themselves. Their hair and clothes probably screamed we were just about to fuck on the table before one of you so rudely interrupted us with your dying. Isak doesn’t even want to know what state his neck is in. If this was going to become a thing, he’d have to have a talk with Even about visible marks.

“Umm yeah, we got locked in.” Is all Isak offers as explanation. He’s not about to try the fruitless effort of talking his way out of this one.

“So Mahdi is dead?” Even asks drawing everyone’s attention back to what actually matters right now.

“We got locked in too! In the hallway closet of all places!” Vilde exclaims

“So did we actually. In the dining room that is.” Mikael furrows his brows, looking down at Mahdi.

“What about you Noora?”

“I got locked in the library after Mahdi said he needed to go to the bathroom.” She says wide eyed.

“Hey Eskild also went to the bathroom when I got locked in in the living room. Did you see what happened to him when you were out?” She asks Eskild.

“No, I was in the bathroom.” Eskild shares almost nervously.

The group looks to him immediately. That’s twice he’s been in the bathroom when a body was found.

“That’s the second time you’ve been in the bathroom while our friends were getting killed.” Jonas says, a little too bluntly maybe.

“Well I can’t very well control when I have to pee can I? Am I supposed to hold it all night on the off chance someone drops dead while I’m in the bathroom?” Eskild shoots back.

“Okay, we don’t have any proof yet.” Isak for once decides to be the voice of reason in the group. What a night of firsts this is turning out to be. At least he could be certain Even wasn’t the killer.

“Did anyone find a note on him?” Even asks.

Isak crouches down and finds a piece of paper sticking out from beneath Mahdi’s suit jacket. He was starting to get real tired of these rhymes.

“You have to read it out loud.” Eva prompts him

 

> _That’s thrice now that I have bested you,_  
>  _And you have yet to find a single clue._  
>  _The work I have seen has been sloppy,_  
>  _I’m afraid you have been too carefree._  
>  _Next round it will be a trilogy,_  
>  _So get back to it and this time don’t be lazy._

“I’m really starting to hate this person.” Isak shakes his head in frustration. This note gives away nothing to their identity.

“Does ‘trilogy’ mean the killer is going to go after three of us at once?” Eva asks, mouth open in shock.

"I don't know how that could even be possible." Vilde says confused.

“Has anyone found any other clues yet?” Jonas asks.

“No luck on our end.” Isak says.

“I’d say there was a lot of getting lucky on their end.” Eva mumbles to Vilde loud enough for the entire group to hear.

Splitting up once again into the same groups, except this time Isak and Even are in the dining room. They look below place settings and under the table with no luck.

“Hey, about what happened earlier.” Isak mumbles next to Even, all to aware that although dead, Elias is still technically in the room with them.

“I would like for it to happen again and again and over and over.” Even smirks back at him. Well at least they were on the same page here.

They hear a scream, distinctly Eva’s, and rush to check what must be the latest murder.

“It was a poisonous snake bite” Sana says after inspecting Eva’s neck. All eyes immediately go to Isak.

“Wasn’t your item a snake?” Magnus accuses.

“Well yes, but I don’t know where it is. I lost track of it last time we were all in the dining room.” Isak defends.

“I told you, you were supposed to keep track of it and not let it out of your sight.” Magnus scolds him “I told you there would be consequences and now Eva is dead.”

“Wait a minute, why did no one accuse Chris when it was her candle stick that killed Mahdi?” He wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and he isn’t above dragging everyone else down with him.

“Because I was locked in the living room.” Chris points out.

“Yeah, but you also didn’t have your item on you.”

“Look,” Jonas steps in “Isak couldn’t have done it... not unless-” Jonas coughs a couple of times before his eyes go wide, his arm stretching out to the crowd before he dramatically collapses in a heap on the ground.

“How convenient, he was about to accuse you and he drops dead” Mikael exclaims walking into the center of the hallway when the lights cut out for the nth time that night. The neighbors probably thought they were making use of strobe lights at this point. The murmur of confusion is interrupted by the thunk and the sound of someone falling down before the light goes back on.

This time the first thing Isak sees is Noora standing right by the lightswitch and soon the others notice too.

“What? I knew where the lightswitch was and I decided to try and turn it back on. You’re welcome by the way.” emphasizing the last part.

“Or not, because Mikael is now dead too.” Eskild points towards the ground. Sure enough there is Mikael lying on the floor next to the cardboard chandelier cutout, the rope holding it secured, untied.

“Well there go three” Chris says.

“Have a little sympathy” Vilde scolds her.

Isak eyes Magnus who has been looking more and more uncomfortable as the night has gone on.

“I’m inclined to go back to my butler theory.” He tells the room.

“Oh come on, what did I even do to you?” Magnus defends.

“If you didn’t do it, then why are you so fidgety and sweaty? You’re hiding something.” Isak has no problem turning his distrust on the last standing member of the boy squad if it means solving the murders.

“Three words, Isak: five piece suit.” Magnus counts each word out on his fingers as he says it.

So maybe he does have a valid reason to sweat and be uncomfortable, but that isn’t enough to strike him off Isak’s list just yet.

“So how did Jonas die then?” Eskild looks at the body in confusion.

“Why don’t we ask Isak, who Jonas was pointing at as he died.” Noora looks to Isak with distrust.

“He was pointing in half of our general direction. It could have been any one of us.” Even reasons.

“He must have been poisoned if he dropped dead like that in front of us.” Sana concludes.

“Was he drinking or eating anything just now?” Vilde asks the group.

“I think I saw him with a drink in his hand earlier.” Chris answers.

Sana walks into the living room and returns to the group in the hall “looks like his drink was poisoned, I found this on the bar.” She holds out a small vial of clear liquid labeled Poison.

“Wasn’t that Noora’s item?” Eskild asks.

“I didn’t have it on me either.” Noora defends, looking away.

“Did any of you follow my rules?” Magnus throws his hands up.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Isak tries to soothe his friend.

“Oh you’re right, no big deal, it just makes it that much easier for the killer to go around killing everyone.” Magnus shoots back.

“Okay let’s not start a fight over this.” Even tries to calm the emotions that are now running high amongst the group.

Noora sighs “so I assume there’s going to be another note?” She asks, already kneeling next to Eva’s body, looking. Finding nothing, she sits back on her heels. “No note?”

“What about one of the guys?” Eskild offers.

“When would the killer have had a chance to leave a note on the body if we were right here?” Isak asks.

Noora shakes her head again after checking Jonas. Well that’s strange.

“What does a lack of a note mean?” Isak wonders out loud.

But before he has a chance go go further on that thought, Noora pulls one out from underneath Mikael.

 

> _I delivered as I promised,_  
>  _And under your watchful eyes I have continued and flourished._  
>  _We’re nearing the end so I hope you hold on tight_  
>  _Because I will show you how to do murder right._  
>  _One last clue to tide you over,_  
>  _You will find me inside the Lever._  
>  _All this excitement has me feeling like I’m standing on pins,_  
>  _The rules still stand: first one to out me, wins._

This time Magnus groans after hearing the contents of the note while Even studies it over thoughtfully

“Isak and I will take the library this time.” Even says, taking a stunned Isak by the hand and dragging him off.

“I think I understand what the clues mean.” He tells Isak as soon as he shuts the door behind them.

“And you think the clue is somewhere in here?” Isak asks looking around the room.

“The last clue mentioned a trilogy and on this clue, the word ‘Lever’ was capitalized almost like it’s a name. I checked all the books when we were in the basement and none of them were in groups of three. Which means we need to check up here.”

“I have these baby name books from 2014, 2015, and 2016 and the name on the spine says ‘Levert’” Isak says after a while of searching. He looks over to find an adorably frustrated Even immediately perk up at the information.

But after thumbing through each book multiple times, they can’t find anything to give them the next clue. Nothing was highlighted or marked in any other way, and nothing fell out of the books when they tried to shake them.

“It was a still a good plan” Isak consoles Even on their way back to the door. Before they can make it there, they hear the sound of a key turning for the second time that night.

“Oh come on, again?” Isak groans, smacking his hand against the locked door.

“Guess the theme of our night is ‘behind locked doors’.” Even wags a suggestive eyebrow his way. There are many things Isak wouldn’t mind doing with Even behind locked doors now that he knows the possibility is on the table. If only the locked door was his bedroom.

“Well nothing to do but hang out and drink I guess.” Isak says helping himself to the bar.

“Unless one of us is the killer, in which case beware” Even walks up next to him and grabs a beer as well.

Isak scoffs “I stand by my theory that it was the butler.”

“You’re still on that? That’s so 70s and 80s. I don’t think it was Magnus” Even says thoughtfully sitting down across from Isak.

“Okay, let’s hear your theory then, that is if you don’t think I did it.”

“Nah, you don’t strike me as the killer type. My money's on Eskild” he licks up some of the foam spilling over from the neck of the bottle.

“I dunno” Isak ponders between sips of his own beer, trying really hard not to choke after what he just got to witness. “I don’t think he’d be able to kill so many people and keep quiet about it. He’d be bursting at the seams to boast about each murder.” Both sentences he never thought he’d say about his long term friend.

“That leaves Chris, Sana, Vilde, or Noora. That could be a lethal squad right there if they orchestrated all of this. I could see Chris being behind it, but I’d be surprised that she left me alive for so long.”

“Old feud?”

“Something like that.” Isak doesn’t feel like rehashing their time at Nissen right now. Not that they haven’t grown since then, but when it came to murder, he chooses to err on the side of caution.

“What about Sana, Vilde, and Noora then?” Even takes a slightly longer sip, swallowing slowly, letting Isak witness the bobbing of his Adam’s apple with the action. When Even catches him watching attentively, he simply winks. Meanwhile Isak is having a moment of crisis wondering if he wants to just be Even or be with him. The next time Even swallows from the bottle andwers that question in no time. With him. Always with him. He vaguely remembers that Even had asked him a question as he looks at Isak expectantly.

“Sana definitely has a more secretive side to her. I could see her doing something like this and not let a single emotion betray her. Plus I bet killing her brother would have been fun” Even joins in on Isak’s laughter at the thought.

“And Vilde?” Even moves to sit at the very edge of the seat, as if drawn to Isak.

“Nah, Vilde’s too sweet. She could never kill that many people, even fake killing, the guilt would probably eat her up inside.” Isak dismisses.

“That leaves Noora.”

“She’d almost be the perfect killer, because no one would suspect her.” He takes a sip trying to quench the thirst that keeps building inside of him.

“How so?” Even looks to him questioningly.

“She’s just good at going unnoticed. Even tonight, she didn’t draw any attention her way unless absolutely necessary.” To be honest he was tired of talking about who the killer could be. The only thing on his mind was on his mind was resuming what he had started with Even downstairs. He didn’t want to look for meaning in clues, words, and names.

Shit, meaning in names. He jumps up from his seat and goes back to the baby name books.

“What are you doing?” Even asks confused, probably having witnessed every single one of Isak’s thoughts on his face. Including the sudden change from horny to determined.

“We were on the right track” he says flipping through the book back and forth.

“Okay, and what are you looking for now?” Even stands next to him looking confused.

“Named after the light I think that’s referring to the meaning of the killer’s name.” Isak answers, not stopping his search.

Accepting his reasoning, Even sits down beside him and opens up one of the other books and starts looking.

“I knew it!” Isak shouts out, still 20 minutes to midnight.

“You got it? Who is it?” Even asks excitedly.

“Noora” he answers in a stage whisper. “I knew she was behind this.” Okay maybe he hadn’t been all that certain about anyone, but now that he had proof, he could brag as he pleases.

Standing up he bolts for the door only to find it still locked from the outside. He was not about to lose the game on a technicality. If no one was going to unlock the door from the outside, it was up to them to find a way out themselves.

“Where would you hide a key?” Isak asks.

“Probably somewhere in the desk.” Even answers Isak and helps him go through the possessions on the desk.

Aha! Isak lifts to find the fake apple hollow inside, with a key stuck inside of it. He grins widely to Even when the key is a perfect match and he swings the door open. 10 minutes to midnight.

“Noora is the killer” he shouts taking off down the hall checking in each room, jumping over the corpses in his way, his friends coming out of each room confused.

“What do you mean it was Noora?” Chris asks, but Isak is already two rooms down at the entrance of the dining room.

“It was you! You’re the killer!” he calls into the room, the rest of the group following closely behind.

Inside the dining room is Noora standing over Eskild in the middle of pouring fake blood over him, a bloodied wrench lying beside him.

“I win! Elias was poisoned before we all lost track of our items and you were the only one with the poison. Then when you, Eva and Eskild when to the bathroom, you were the only one standing in the hall, because Eskild was already upstairs and that’s when you killed Linn. Then you went into the bathroom, leaving Eva to discover her. And you were Mahdi’s partner so of course you were the one who locked everyone in their rooms and then killed him. And to throw the attention off yourself you tried to frame Chris and them me next with Eva’s death. Of course you also poisoned Jonas and cut the chandelier that killed Mikael. But there still wouldn’t have been time to plant the note and make it back to your spot in that short amount of time, so you pretended it was on the body, when in reality you had it all along.”

He hadn’t planned on going on a long winded speech or say anything really. But once he got going, he simply couldn’t stop. Right this moment he may as well been Velma from the scooby gang.

“Yeah, but I still died” a not dead Eskild whines on the floor “ you couldn’t have been ten minutes earlier?”

“Sorry, we were locked in the library.” Isak shrugs.

“If that’s the same code you used for locked in the basement which we all know meant anything but that, then feel free not to share with the class.” Jonas calls from the hall.

“Ugh can I get up now?” Elias complains “I think I just permanently deformed my spine, lying bent over like that.”

Noora sighs “Yes you can all get up now, Isak solved the case.”

He enjoys one victory drink with the rest of the group before catching Even’s eye. There’s a theme he’d like to continue, but it’s not murder mystery.

“Do you want the lights on or off?” Even asks once they’re finally in Isak’s room and after their night of constant light outages Isak isn’t too sure himself.

“Whatever you prefer.” Isak shrugs, not really able to come to a conclusion.

“On, definitely on. I want to see exactly what I’m in for.” Even grins wolfishly as his eyes wander down Isak’s body unashamed.

*

“You think they’re banging yet?” Magnus asks. The eyes Even and Isak had been making at each other were no secret to anyone in the room.

“Probably” Eskild allows “at least, I’m in no rush to get home and to find out what they’re up to.”

“Well then, I would call tonight a success, boys and girls.” Jonas raises his drink in acknowledgement of their successful night. It may have taken six dead bodies, but they managed to pull it off.


End file.
